17 December 2020, Ten years ago today, 26-year old Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest over injustice and state marginalization, igniting mass uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and other countries across the Middle East and North Africa. As we mark the 10th anniversary of the Arab[...]
In areas such as North and East Syria, internet sources are becoming increasingly limited and difficult to come by. Against the backdrop of anarchy, war, threats of extremist organizations and complex power struggles plaguing the region, lack of internet access has become another critical problem to be addressed. After protests[...]
This year, governments in the Middle East and North Africa have continued to shut down and throttle the internet during grade and high school examinations. So far, governments in Jordan, Syria, Algeria, and Sudan have disrupted the internet during examinations. We call on governments across the region to refrain from[...]
Though Coursera did not respond to SMEX’s request for comment, the restriction of both platforms in Syria is likely linked to the reimposition of the Iran sanctions. Previously, Coursera totally restricted access to its content in Syria in 2014, but quickly reinstated access to the majority of the courses, limiting[...]
Feature image via Flickr, October 2013: An iPhone with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications. On Wednesday, the Syrian Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced that it was considering blocking voice calls on WhatsApp and other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to increase revenues in the telecommunications industry, according to[...]
In the final days of the 2011 Egyptian revolution, the world gasped in disbelief as the administration of President Hosni Mubarak shut down access to the Internet and all mobile communications. At the time, it was inconceivable that a government would cut off people’s access to the internet and mobile[...]
Feature image via Breaking News Syria August 7, 2017: The headquarters of Syrian Criminal Security, the apparatus that runs the Cybercrimes branch. Update: After being approved by the Syrian parliament on March 18, 2018, the new anti-cybercrime legislation (Law 9/2018) was officially decreed by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Monday[...]
Update: Watch the report about Alaa and Bassel on Al Jazeera This statement has been re-published from Global Voices Advocacy. Today, on Human Rights Day, we remind the world of our many friends who have broken the silence of oppression by expressing their thoughts, asking questions, and thinking critically and constructively about[...]
